Core i5-10400F vs Ryzen 7 4980U

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, productivity performance, platform differences, power efficiency, pricing context, and upgrade path so you can see which CPU actually makes more sense.

Core i5-10400F

2020

Why buy it

✅+50% larger total L3 cache (12 MB vs 8 MB).
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (16 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Ryzen 7 4980U.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 4980U across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (13,029 vs 17,469).
❌Launch MSRP is still $160 MSRP, while Ryzen 7 4980U mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌333.3% higher power demand at 65W vs 15W.

Ryzen 7 4980U

2021

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +11.0% higher average FPS across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 15W instead of 65W, a 50W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Smaller total L3 cache (8 MB vs 12 MB).
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-10400F.

Core i5-10400F

2020

Ryzen 7 4980U

2021

Why buy it

✅+50% larger total L3 cache (12 MB vs 8 MB).
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (16 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Includes a boxed cooler (Yes), unlike Ryzen 7 4980U.

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +11.0% higher average FPS across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅Draws 15W instead of 65W, a 50W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Ryzen 7 4980U across 3 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Lower PassMark (13,029 vs 17,469).
❌Launch MSRP is still $160 MSRP, while Ryzen 7 4980U mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌333.3% higher power demand at 65W vs 15W.

Trade-offs

❌Smaller total L3 cache (8 MB vs 12 MB).
❌No boxed cooler included, unlike Core i5-10400F.

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 7 4980U better than Core i5-10400F?

Yes. Ryzen 7 4980U is the better overall CPU here. You are getting a 11.0% average FPS lead across 3 shared CPU game tests in our data, 34.1% better PassMark, and the stronger long-term platform, which makes it the stronger all-around choice.

Which one is better for gaming?

If gaming is the priority, Ryzen 7 4980U is the better pick here. According to our tests, it delivers 11.0% more average FPS across 3 shared CPU game tests.

Which one is better for streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 7 4980U is the better fit. You are getting 34.1% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper CPU?

Ryzen 7 4980U is still the faster CPU overall, but Core i5-10400F makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen 7 4980U is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $160 MSRP, and it gives you a 11.0% average FPS lead across 3 shared CPU game tests in our data. Core i5-10400F is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (81.4 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Ryzen 7 4980U is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer CPU generation (2021 vs 2020) and more multi-core headroom with 8 cores / 16 threads instead of 6/12. That extra compute headroom should age better as games, background tasks, and creator workloads get heavier.

Games Benchmarks

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Core i5-10400F Benchmark Check

Ryzen 7 4980U Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i5-10400F	Ryzen 7 4980U
1080p
low	192 FPS	171 FPS
medium	152 FPS	142 FPS
high	123 FPS	113 FPS
ultra	100 FPS	93 FPS
1440p
low	153 FPS	147 FPS
medium	119 FPS	120 FPS
high	97 FPS	96 FPS
ultra	79 FPS	79 FPS
4K
low	82 FPS	83 FPS
medium	70 FPS	73 FPS
high	55 FPS	57 FPS
ultra	43 FPS	45 FPS

Open Core i5-10400F Open Ryzen 7 4980U

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i5-10400F	Ryzen 7 4980U
1080p
low	326 FPS	196 FPS
medium	318 FPS	164 FPS
high	290 FPS	150 FPS
ultra	253 FPS	131 FPS
1440p
low	326 FPS	170 FPS
medium	292 FPS	146 FPS
high	267 FPS	136 FPS
ultra	234 FPS	115 FPS
4K
low	309 FPS	137 FPS
medium	258 FPS	122 FPS
high	235 FPS	115 FPS
ultra	199 FPS	99 FPS

Open Core i5-10400F Open Ryzen 7 4980U

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i5-10400F	Ryzen 7 4980U
1080p
low	326 FPS	437 FPS
medium	326 FPS	437 FPS
high	326 FPS	437 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	437 FPS
1440p
low	326 FPS	437 FPS
medium	326 FPS	437 FPS
high	326 FPS	437 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	420 FPS
4K
low	326 FPS	437 FPS
medium	326 FPS	388 FPS
high	289 FPS	340 FPS
ultra	229 FPS	277 FPS

Open Core i5-10400F Open Ryzen 7 4980U

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i5-10400F	Ryzen 7 4980U
1080p
low	326 FPS	437 FPS
medium	326 FPS	437 FPS
high	326 FPS	437 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	437 FPS
1440p
low	326 FPS	437 FPS
medium	326 FPS	437 FPS
high	326 FPS	437 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	430 FPS
4K
low	326 FPS	437 FPS
medium	326 FPS	415 FPS
high	326 FPS	363 FPS
ultra	326 FPS	309 FPS

Open Core i5-10400F Open Ryzen 7 4980U

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-10400F and Ryzen 7 4980U

Core i5-10400F

The Core i5-10400F is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 30 April 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Comet Lake (2020−2025) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Base frequency is 2.9 GHz, with boost up to 4.3 GHz. L3 cache: 12 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1200. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 13,029 points. Launch price was $155.

Ryzen 7 4980U

The Ryzen 7 4980U is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 13 April 2021 (4 years ago). It is based on the Renoir-U (Zen 2) (2020−2021) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 2 GHz, with boost up to 4.4 GHz. L3 cache: 8 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 7 nm process technology. Socket: FP6. Thermal design power (TDP): 15 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 17,469 points. Launch price was $299.

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Processing Power

The Core i5-10400F packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Ryzen 7 4980U offers 8 cores / 16 threads — the Ryzen 7 4980U has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.3 GHz on the Core i5-10400F versus 4.4 GHz on the Ryzen 7 4980U — a 2.3% clock advantage for the Ryzen 7 4980U (base: 2.9 GHz vs 2 GHz). The Core i5-10400F uses the Comet Lake (2020−2025) architecture (14 nm), while the Ryzen 7 4980U uses Renoir-U (Zen 2) (2020−2021) (7 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-10400F scores 13,029 against the Ryzen 7 4980U's 17,469 — a 29.1% lead for the Ryzen 7 4980U. L3 cache: 12 MB (total) on the Core i5-10400F vs 8 MB (total) on the Ryzen 7 4980U.

Feature	Core i5-10400F	Ryzen 7 4980U
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	8 / 16+33%
Boost Clock	4.3 GHz	4.4 GHz+2%
Base Clock	2.9 GHz+45%	2 GHz
L3 Cache	12 MB (total)+50%	8 MB (total)
L2 Cache	256K (per core)	512 kB (per core)+100%
Process	14 nm	7 nm-50%
Architecture	Comet Lake (2020−2025)	Renoir-U (Zen 2) (2020−2021)
PassMark	13,029	17,469+34%
Cinebench R23 Multi	8,191	—
Geekbench 6 Single	1,454	—
Geekbench 6 Multi	5,783	—

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Memory & Platform

The Core i5-10400F uses the LGA1200 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Ryzen 7 4980U uses FP6 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i5-10400F	Ryzen 7 4980U
Socket	LGA1200	FP6
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-2666	—
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB	—
RAM Channels	2	—
ECC Support	No	—
PCIe Lanes	16	—

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Advanced Features

Virtualization: VT-x, VT-d (Core i5-10400F) / not specified (Ryzen 7 4980U). Primary use case: Core i5-10400F targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Core i5-10400F rivals Ryzen 5 3600.